


Work through it

by Jisungs_aegyo



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Love Confessions, Max is 12, Multi, No sexualizing, Other, Preston is 13, Sexualizing is a no no, slowburn?, they're KIDS
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-09
Updated: 2017-10-15
Packaged: 2018-12-25 03:38:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,392
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12027309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jisungs_aegyo/pseuds/Jisungs_aegyo
Summary: Max has concluded: He's taking a shit after being emotionally constipated for so long.





	1. The first time he noticed

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure how long this will be and I may add other ships later!

The sun shown down...

And heated the stage of the Camp Campbell theatre.  
It was so hot out, and Max felt just fucking amazing.

He could tell everyone hated being in the heat as well, especially just for Prestons dumb improv exercises.  
Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

Preston was grinning as he walked to the middle of the stage, a bounce in his step caused his hair to sway with him as he walked. Max just knew that people from whatever period Preston was dressed from would adore him.  
"Alright everyone, today will be a very fun day for you all! This being because we are ALL going inside to play stage games!" 

"Fuck, THANK YOU-"

"Max, language!"  
All the campers happily hopped up and began making their way to the mess hall. Max fell back from the crowd a bit, Nikki and Neil having some sort of animated conversation with Harrison.  
As he trailed back, Preston made his way next to Max, hands behind his back as he swooped right next to the smaller boy.  
"Hello, Maxwell-" Preston began with an odd smile.

"It's Max, Preston. What do you want?" The boy sounded just a tad bit to harsh in his own opinion.  
But apparently Preston didn't mind.

"Well, you see, I was thinking and- Listen, these last two years at camp we've barely even talked to one another? Which is odd considering Nikki and I are on good terms and such, I guess I'm just saying-"  
Max cut the boy off; it was extremely amusing seeing the pompous and loud boy so embarassed.

"Sure 'Pres', just talk to me whenever, I don't bite much, but I'm sure as hell not making the effort with this friendship." The shorter boy dead panned. Glancing over, Max could tell he'd hurt the others feelings. He felt a disgusting feeling of regret pile in his stomach. He'd felt that a lot recently, for some reason Preston was the feelings catalyst.

Max had felt bad for Nikki the first time he met her dad.

He felt bad for Neil when he saw Neil's mess of a Mom.

He felt bad for David when the older man realized Mr. Campbell was just a scamming old geezer.

Preston was different some how though, Max took Preston and projected himself on to him. He noticed it a long time ago.

The first time Max realized something was up with Preston was probably his first year at camp. That day they had to take care of those damn platypus eggs for Mr. Campbell.  
Max never blinked an eye at physical violence at camp, Nurf hit people a lot, everyone there had violent tendancies.  
When Max noticed that Prestons first reaction to having a black eye or any kind of physical mark was to hide it and act like it was an accident, thats when Max started thinking about it. Every time Preston flinched at what little physical contact people gave him after that made it even more obvious, if only seeing his Grandma on parents day wasn't enough. 

Since then, Max had thought a lot.  
Subconciously, he'd punch Nurfs arm if the bigger boy had threatened Preston, or if others pointed out his faults, Max would change the subject to anothers faults.  
But somtimes when he thought, he knew he shouldn't.

Max got no attention, and Preston once upon a time, had gotten all the wrong attention. 

In a happier world, Max and Preston would become friends and comfort one another.

But this world wasn't happy, and Max's pride wouldn't let him be comforted.

"Ugh, don't be so sad about it, just, I don't know, come to me when you're bored or nobody wants to talk to you, I can listen if you need or whatever." Max looked away, slightly embarassed for the shitty attempt at an apology.  
Preston smiled a little more as they entered the mess hall.

_______________

Everyone had gathered in the middle of the room in a circle, tables pushed the the rooms edge. The dramatic brunette hopped on to one of the tables, smiling at the campers.  
"Now, I would have you all play Redball, but since some of you have the maturity of 3rd graders," he side eyed Harrison and Nurf.  
"We'll be playing heads up! I trust we all remember the rules?" Everyone quickly got in to an uncomfortablly tight circle. Out of all the games Preston taught them, this was everyones favourite.  
Even Max enjoyed it to a certain extent.

Max was good at this game, he believed, he especially liked the screaming part.  
The short boys heart sped up a bit before the game began; everyone seemed to get competitive with this game and that atmosphere would in turn make Max anxious and excited to play too.

It was weird how everyone got competitive over such a silly game, but maybe the fact that the final loser had to clean the mess hall afterwards added fuel to the fire.

"Heads down!" 

Ugh, his heart beat unsteadily, He could see why this game helped actors. The idea that someone could be looking at you at an unflattering angle was the most discomforting feeling ever.

"Heads up!"  
________________

Five minutes later and Max had made eye contact with 2 people and screamed them both out. Now it was only him, Nurf, and Nerris.

If Max wasn't nervous before, he definitely was now. Either he could look at someone and scream first, keeping his pride but risking clean up duty, or look at someone and purposefully lose so he didn't have to clean.

He could just feel the excitement and happiness oozing off of Preston. 

"Heads down!"

Preston.  
There wasn't a rule against looking at Preston or David or Gwen when they played. Not an explicit one at least.

Max always wondered why Preston didn't play with them, he clearly loved the game, but opted out every time.  
"Heads up!"

Max looked up, and before he even opened his eyes Preston was looking at him with some sort of grossly fond expression.  
The two brunettes were both in shock, Prestons smile quickly slipping off his face as the two stared at one another. 

Nerris and Nurf both screamed, Nerris being the quicker draw.  
Max and Preston just blinked slowly at one another for what felt like fucking forever.

"A-Ahh?" The green-eyed boy weakly yelled.

Preston blinked once more, slowly getting down from the table.  
Max would swear he'd seen Preston blush.

That day, Preston cleaned the mess hall for the first time after losing at rock paper scissors to Nerris.

That night, Max fell asleep thinking about Prestons flushed face. How many times had Preston stared at him during that game? Max'd never know.


	2. The first realization

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prestons pov <3

And neither boy knew...

That David would be hollering outside at everyone, grabbing every campers help he could.

Preston was happy to help David, but jesus christ if David expected the campers to carry giant logs for a bonfire and set them up properly, he was sorely mistaken. Only Nurf could maybe do that.

Looking around, Preston spotted Max leaning against a tree while watching everyone work. It should make Preston angry, but instead he gave up on his log and chose to walk in Max's direction instead.

Yesterday had been so embarassing when Max had caught him staring.  
It's not like Preston had weird feelings for Max, he knew himself well enough to seperate things like crushes and simple admiration. 

Preston loved Max's eyes, and if Max's actions were more enthusiastic and he got into activities more, Preston would KILL to have Max in his plays.

He also admired Max's sense of independence.

Preston had always liked to think he was a rebel, and he loved the different ways he'd rebel against people and authority, but he knew it wasn't because he felt oppresed. He rebelled for the thrill, which was the most exciting thing any thirteen year old could feel in his opinion. Max though, Max rebelled when he felt like he was being wronged. Max HAD felt oppresed, so he'd stand against his oppresors before anyone else, and Preston admired that.

"What do you need, Preston?" The boy said monotonously. The older boy frowned as he leaned against an opposing tree.  
"I just wanted to come say hi, you looked so lonely over here."  
Max sighed and put his hands down in his pockets, glancing Preston up and down. Suddenly, Preston felt extremely self concious.

"Well, hi. Aren't you excited for this bonfire or whatever? David wants everyone to dress casually this time, emphasis on casually." Max made a grab at Prestons puffy sleeves and fiddled with the fabric under his fingers. Preston was definitely self concious now.  
"Ugh, don't remind me. Trust me, my casual wear is the last version of myself I want any of you to see." The amber eyed boy groaned.

"What does that mean? Are you gonna show up in some skimpy outfit or something? I'm not gonna judge you openly at least, but now I feel like I should be prepared?" The boys voice grew higher in pitch the further he went on, sounded now some what nervous and unsure of himself.  
Preston grinned as he giggled and began walking away as he simply stated "You'll just have to wait and see then."

_______________

Why the fuck did Preston act confident about his casual clothing.

Preston was alone in his tent, Nerris had left to go find Nikki. Looking himself up and down in the mirror, he felt a strange new anxiety at the thought that Max was going to be expecting.... What was Max expecting? Probably not this. 

His Grandma, Preston believed, was a cruel hearted woman indeed.  
When she sent him to camp, all she packed were enough hand made, over sized sweaters to warm even the grinches heart. They weren't itchy, thank god, but still, they were flowery patterned and pastel, and Preston loved them but not around other people.

His pink and white, flowery sweater paired with the shorts his Grandma packed him made him look super feminine. Which Preston didn't mind, being in theatre had shown him that gender expression was shown in so many different ways.

But now, Max was going to see him like this.

Oh boy, for some reason, Preston's chest got tight with worry.

But now, the alarm goes off and everyone is being called to the bonfire.  
_______________

As soon as Preston got to the bonfire, he felt personally offended. 

Space kid had only changed his clothes and still wore his helmet, Nerris barely changed at all, replacing her usual cape with a red, fluffy one, and Harrison just took his vest off. This sucked.

"You look like a wet dog, Pres." Max spoke up from behind, making his way next to the taller boy. Thank god Max had changed too, only wearing a blue shirt and the same cargo shorts as before.

"I can't believe I worried over my clothing choices just to see that I wasn't even required to change!" Preston groaned in frustration. Max chuckled at the older boy.

Hearing him laugh caused Preston to smile nervously, he didn't want Max to know that his new friend caused most of his anxieties.

Suddenly, lightning crashed against the lake. 

"FUCK THIS DAVID, we are NOT doing this bonfire!" Gwen screamed from the mess hall.  
David frowned and looked across the campers.  
"Well gosh darn it Gwen, we're gonna try!"  
_____________

Thirty minutes later and it was raining cats and dogs again, which Preston wished he mean't metaphorically. 

Everyone had retreated to their tents, except most went to the wrong ones.  
Nikki, Ered, Neil, Harrison, and Nerris all crammed into his and Nerris' tent. Dolph and Space kid ran into their own, and nobody dared to go in to Nurfs tent.

When the rain got heavier and the lightning became more frequent, Max had grabbed Preston by his wrist and pulled him along quickly to his tent. This was, for lack of better phrasing, a bat-shit crazy occurence in Prestons eyes. Max wasn't very keen on physical contact, he made that very clear with people. Even Neil and Nikki were lucky to get hugs.

The two boys huffed once they were inside the tent, not as wet as you'd think, but still not at all dry. Max turned on the lamp and dug out two hoodies from his bag. He threw a large red hoodie at Preston and stripped down to his boxers before throwing the blue hoodie on. Preston turned away, embarassed.

"Hurry up and change, if you catch a cold it'll probably cause some other sort of episode themed day long event to occur, and thats the last thing we want." The short boy sighed and walked over too the coffee machine they kept in the tent, flipping it on.

Preston made a noise of acknowledgment before looking down at the large sweater. 

Setting it down, he peeled off the gross, soggy cotton sweater.  
"Hey, take this." As he turned to look at Max, his face was immediately met with a towel that had been pegged at him. Max snickered at the face Preston was making, he looked like a wet kitten.

Preston dried and slowly slid the hoodie on. It was big, even for him, which made him wonder why thr smaller boy owned something so big.  
"They thought I'd grown in to it." Max broke the silence, holding a cup of hot coffee out to Preston.

"My parents, I mean. They thought buying me something that big would mean they wouldn't have to buy another one for a long time." The thespian took the cup from Max, smiling sympathetically at him. He nodded as thanks and went to sit across from him on Neil's bed.

"Well, I think you will one day, but that doesn't mean its of use to you now. Jesus, this thing would smother you." Max sighed and took a sip of his coffee, letting out a small "I know." 

The rain outside filled the silence between the two. Preston took a sip of the pipping cup, and scrunched his nose at the bitterness. Maybe thats where Max got it from.

"When I was little, my Dad got me my first stage costume." Preston began. He noticed the boy across from him whip his head up, looking at the other curiously.

"He got it for me when I was seven and said I'd grow in to it too. He never got me another one, and now I wear that outfit he got me every day; You'll grow into this hoodie one day, Max." Preston stared at Max fondly, listening to the rain hit the tents roof, and in that moment, he felt warm and safe as he drank hot, bitter coffee with his new friend who he'd realized he'd come to adore. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrote this in between packing evacuation <3


	3. A missed chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Camp Campbell takes a field trip

The other boy stared...

At Max, who felt that Prestons staring was dreadfully obvious. His eyes were wide and cat-like, which Max only imagined they must look like.  
Nobody but Nikki and Max knew he was staring from across the mess hall, Nerris and Harrison being painfully unaware as they talked animatedly.

"Max, why is Preston staring like that. It's kind of creeping me out." Nikki asked. Max knew she didn't mean it rudely, but for some reason it made Max's skin itchy when she said it like that.

"If I knew, I'd turn right around now and fucking ask him, Nikki." The boy grumbled.

"Oh good, he's coming over now! Now you can find out!"

Max's heart should not have dropped like it did just then. Ew, why did it do that? It's just Preston.

"Hey!" The boy greeted,

"What's up Preston." Max cringed at how non-caring he sounded. Why was he such a gross person like that?

Damn him and his old habits

Preston had sat down uncomfortably far away for the two to have a conversation. He also held a publix brand bag over his shoulder which oddly enough did not surprise him.

"Ah, uh-ISN'T THE WEATHER OUT TODAY SIMPLY BREATH-TAKING?" Preston yelled. Max gulped startled and amused at the boys sudden out burst. Clearly, he had a problem he wanted to talk to Max about or something private, but the thick headed boy, for some reason, was nervous.

"What's really breath-taking is how loud you talk dude. You can tone down a little with me, you've got my undivided attention, nerd." Preston looked like he'd swallowed a spicy golf ball or something cause he sure as hell looked embarassed now.

Max found it quite endearing.

"Sorry, I just wanted to-" Preston was suddenly cut off by the camp alarm blaring. That thing was really getting on Max's nerves.

"Nevermind we can do this later, hahaha, c'mon lets go Max!" The taller boy grabbed Max's wrist without thinking and began to walk quickly out of the mess hall.

Max still had no idea how to feel about physical contact with Preston. It was awkward and seemed forced when Max initated it, and made his ears go red when Preston did. Aside from punching the occasional asshole and the the rare teacher that felt the need to touch Max's shoulders, the boy had never had much physical contact with many people. He didn't hate it or refuse it, but it just wasn't a usual occurance for him.

So when Prestons soft hands wrapped around his wrists, it was bound to startle him a little.  
But he shouldn't be this nervous and embarassed. It was the friction, that was it. The friction of his wrist and Prestons warm hands that made him embarassed.

Once they reached the main grounds, Preston let go almost immediately. Hopefully Max wasn't the only one accutely aware of the oddness of the physical contact they had.

They waited for a while, everyone getting antsy as Gwen and David had yet to show up.

Suddenly, tires screeching could be heard across the camp. The campers heads all whipped around to see a bus barreling towards them. As it sped closer, it thankfully swerved at hit the flag pole.

"David what the FUCK" Max shouted as David and Gwen stumbbled off the bus.  
"Just to clarify, that was GWEN driving not me, and also, language!"

"Alright kids, today we're all taking a trip in to town. Girls go with me, boys with David. Hurry in and get on the bus." Gwen called and motioned for everyone to follow David inside the old bus.  
_________________

The back four rows of the bus were taken up by Max and Prestons group of friends. Preston had cautiously tugged on Max's sleeve before boarding amd asked if he could sit next to him, and Max, on some sort of reflex, agreed. The back two rows were taken by Preston, Max, Nikki and Nerris, while the next two were taken by Harrison, Neil (begrudgingly), and space kid and Ered.

Max fidgetted with the hem of his hoodie. What the hell twelve year olds like him were supposed to be little shits who made friends easily. He'd became friends with Nikki and Neil quickly, but then again that was two years ago and he was even more troublesome than he was now. 

Preston seemed anxious too, he still had the publix bag in his lap.  
"Do you-uh, do you like any kind of music? Like musicals maybe?" The older boy spoke up.  
"I'm not opposed to them I guess, but between the types of people I know I don't listen to them a lot?" Max thought before he spoke, knowing that societys impression of musicals had swayed him to automatically say something like "musicals are for losers", but he knew it wasn't his real opinion.

"If you wouldn't mind, I'd love to suggest a few! Classics like Phantom of the Opera and Hairspray are good, but I think your style of musicals would be more recent things. You HAVE to listen to The Lightning Thief musical!" The taller boy quickly became excited, and the way he squirmed in his seat while talking animatedly was very amusing for Max.

"Wait, they made a musical for Percy Jackson?" Max remembered when he read that series in elementary school. It had been really good, but the movie was shit.

"Yeah! It's not completely like the book, but it's leagues above the movie, and has some really good vocals."

That was actually pretty sweet in Max's opinion. He'd always enjoyed music, maybe he'd have to give it a listen.

"Okay Pres, how about you make me that playlist and I'll make you my own little list of bands I like. No offense, but you don't look like someone who listens to bands that much." Preston looked like he WANTED to be offended, but couldn't due to the truth in Max's words.

"I listen to Marina and the Diamonds..?" The smaller boy grinned and looked in to Prestons pretty amber eyes.

"There may be hope for you yet, theatre boy."  
_________________

The bus screeched to a halt as it pulled up to the towns sidewalk. Everyone hooting as they hop out of the bus; townspeople side-eyed them at this.

"Come on, break off in to groups kids." David called.

Of course, no one did. 

Everyone got in to groups with their friends and began walking around. Gwen didn't seem to really care, which David loudly protested to.

"Max, Max! CAN WE GO IN HERE, PLEASE?!" Max cringed at Prestons yelling. He looked over to where Preston pointed and, normally, would have found it cute how Preston wanted to go into the old looking diner.  
But no, he didn't right now, because Preston had yelled in his ear.

"Yes Preston, we can, just stop screaming in my fucking ear." He raised his voice a little. Ugh, why was Max so spiteful and petty. Now Preston was probably sad.

"Sorry, old habits, y'know." Preston shrugged, less sad than Max expected. Maybe he was getting used to Max's shitty way of conveying his shit.

Max walked cautiously behind Preston as they walked in to the diner. The sign looked sun-bleached and read "Terry's drive in".  
An older boy bounced over to them, him and Preston would get along.  
"Alright fellas, table for two I assume?"  
"Yes please, can we sit at the bar?" The amber-eyed boy asked.  
"Course little man!"

As the man led the two up to the bar counter, Max took a closer look around at his surroundings. There had to be about a dozen neon signs just against the windows of the diner themselves. The booths all sat back to back, and the seats were a washed up pink. Max was positive this place held magical properties at night.

When they reached the bar, Preston and Max both hopped on the matching washed-out-pink stools and the waiter left them with a grin and their menu's.

"What're you gonna get?" Preston asked as his eyes scanned the menu.

Max didn't even have to look at the menu.  
"Chocolate milkshake, mac' and cheese, and a large order of fries" he spit out like it was printed in his mind.

"That.. Actually sounds really good. Except it's gotta be a strawberry milkshake." Max looked at Preston in horror, eye twitching for dramatic effect.

"You, my friend, are a heathen." 

Their waiter, who's name tag Max finally read as 'Georgie' popped over behind the bar.

"What'll it be boys?" Georgie asked, flipping his notepad open.

"Two orders of Mac' and Cheese with large fries. Two large shakes, Chocolate and Strawberry please." 

Max looked to Preston as Georgie walked away.  
"So, about that music taste of yours."  
Preston looked at Max and grinned sheepishly as he fiddled with the publix bag.

"You said there's hope for me yet, so I assume Marina's good?" Max nodded and began to go off on a gross tangent.

"Marina is a queen dude, if you like her you should listen to Lana Del Rey. Lana is like, a weird kind of god in the music world. Melanie Martinez is good too but some people don't like her. Also, Halsey is an ICON. Do you wanna stick with female artists?" He didn't mean to frazzle the boy up, but he looked a little overwhelmed. "Hey man, stop me if you need to. I'm more invested in music than Neil or Nikki so I'll probably go a little over the top."

Preston shook his head, leaning in a little?  
"Keep going, I just might need to write it down."

He nodded, grabbing an old discarded pen and some paper from his hoodie.

What kind of music would Preston like? Max normally would just throw down some mainstream music artists, but he actually kind of wanted Preston to listen to music he felt he'd like.

"Um, Max, speaking of the act of trading things, I-" Preston began. The slap of ceramic against the counter cut him off.

"Here you boys go!" Georgie grinned down at them.

Max thanked him and they started eating.

"This isn't so bad. Gam-Gam says dairy and stuff is unhealthy so she never lets me eat it." Preston frowned.

"Preston, your Gam-Gam looked sweet as honey, but she's out of her mind to not let you have dairy." Max wished he'd been able to call his Grandma something cute like Gam-Gam.

"Gam-Gam is a sensible, finely aged woman. I trust her entirely, but maybe just this once I'll have to disagree." Preston smiled down at his Macaroni.

"Weren't you talking about something? Like, trade or whatever?" Max piped up, mouth stuffed with food.

"Oh yes! I just wanted to-" and yet fucking again, Preston was interrupted.

The diner door slammed open as Neil, Harrison, and Nikki all ran in.  
"MAX, WE HAVE A SITUATION." Neil yelled.  
Max groaned, slamming a $20 on the counter and scooting out of his seat.  
"What'd you do this time?"  
"Harrison was showing off in front of Neil again and may have accidentally stolen Nurfs wallet, and he saw and Harrison for some reason won't give it back so now he wants to murder us!" How she said that all in one breath, Max would never know.

"Harrison shows off to everyone Nikki, he's a magician you know." Neil crossed his arms.

"I only commit theft for the special ones though." Harrison winked at Neil, who pointed a finger at his mouth and fake puked.

"Why don't you wanna give it back?" Preston asked, now out of his seat.

"C'mon guys, I'll be killed even if I give it back before he gets any angrier, I at least wanna snoop a little." He grinned.

"You frog-faced maniac!" Neil yelled.

"Frog-faced?" Frowned the Magician.

"HARRISON!"  
And just like that, the five children disappeared from the diner.  
_______________

The five kids sat crouched under a table in the local bar. Very few were there, but there was a cop and David there, so they'd be safe if Nurf got to them. Hopefully.

"Okay Harrison, do your snooping shit and then lets give the wallet to David." Preston whispered.

Harrison quickly obliged and flipped the wallet open. 

Inside there was some money, old bus tickets and movie tickets that were obviously years old, but there had to be a dozen photos of a dark haired, tall boy who had to be a junior at least. Harrison flipped a photo over in his hand and read the name out loud.

"Chris and Nurf forever.." 

"SERIOUSLY? THAT'S NURFS EX BOYFRIEND?" Preston shouted.

Jeez, Max was shocked too but Preston was a bit too surprised.

"You satisfied, frog?" Neil glared at Harrison.  
"I'll be satisfied as soon as you stop calling me a frog."  
_______________

Harrison, surprisingly, made it back to camp alive. Nurf seemed angry, but happy to have his wallet.

"MAX!" The boy turned to see Preston and his obnoxious Publix back running towards him. He looked a mess, making Max chuckle.

"Yeah Pres'?" The boy bent over a little, regaining his breath.  
"Hoodie.. your red hoodie... I washed it, here, thank you..!" He held out the publix bag to Max.

This must be what Preston was trying to tell him all day.

Oh my god, Preston was such a dork.

"Hey man, I... I appreciate it, but, it's like, really big for me y'know?" Max began.

"Yes, I'm aware." 

"So what I'm saying is, erm.."

"Uhuh?"

Ugh, Max hated this more than anything. Now Preston saw him embarassed. This sucked.

"Keep the fucking sweater Preston."  
His amber eyes- how had Max not noticed how shiny they were?- lit up along with his ears.

"I can't do that Max, your parents gave it to you!"

Max sighed and stuffed his hands further in his pockets.

"Fine then, just, keep it until I can fit in it then. Once I'm big enough, give it back. Deal?"

Preston pondered this for a minute, looking at the ground with his eyebrows furrowed.

"... Okay, if you're really sure about that." The boy, for some reason, seemed to be distressed by this fact.

"I'm sure preston. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a cot with my name on it. Goodnight, Pres'." 

"Goodnight Max." 

As they walked away from one another, Max would never know that there was a slip of paper in the red hoodie Preston was returning that would have mad Max's ear just as dark as Prestons had been.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello~! I've decided about how many chapters this fic will be. Maybe I'll base one shots off of this too but thats only if people like it! Also I'm safe and sound, but school starts again soon, so I won't be able to write as much. Lastly, please be my friend!! Talk to me about Camp Camp!!! @tobyelliotdraws on instagram and @toberslly on Tumblr!!! Also if anyone wants it I can leave a comment listing what groups/singers Max reccomended :)


	4. There's gonna be a fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prestons friends call the shots per usual.

He wanted to stare back...

At his friend he sat across from. Their whole friendship started a month ago with Preston staring at him, so this situation was incredibly new; Max staring.

It made him very frustrated. He wanted to look at Max too but if he did and they were staring at each other, he knew Max would realize. Prestons face would heat up and he'd get embarassed and he just didn't want that.

Yes, Preston knew it, he had a crush on Max at this point. And realizing it only strengthened it. It wasn't anything special Max did, Preston was actually quite easy to take the fall for people, really. He had a crush on Harrison for like, a week. 

Preston never really knew where the line was drawn between crushes and friendship, but if he had to guess, it was Max. Max and how his lazy smile made Preston wanna grab his face and smother it in kisses. Ew, gross Preston, seriously.

And honestly, Preston was glad Max had let him keep the red hoodie. He'd written that confession letter when he realized he had a crush on him, but as soon as he was trying to give it to Max, he realized he wasn't ready to tell him. He liked being friends with Max, it was nice.

"Alright, sounds like a plan. You guys are in too, right?" Neil looked between Max and Preston.

"Wait, in on what?" The younger boy looked at Neil quizzically.

"While you two were in La La Land, we decided since its gonna rain tonight that we're gonna have a movie night in the mess hall." Neil grinned before Nerris butt in.

"My parents sent me a projector, all we need is a sheet, blankets and pillows, and movies." Preston's eyebrows furrowed.

"Where are we gonna get those?"  
Harrison grinned and leaned in closer to the two.

"While Gwen and David are taking care of some 'distractions', two of us will sneak in to the counselors office and grab some of their movies. They've got hundreds, they won't miss a few." 

The thespian was wiggling in his seat, this was going to be so exciting! Plus, a movie night in the rain with his closest friends? That sounded like heaven!

"Count me in! I can cause enough distraction to equate that of three campers!" Preston grinned wildly. He looked over at Max who didn't seem as enthusiastic as him, but didn't seem against it either.

"Alright, sure. But if we get caught, it was Neils idea."

"Fine."

______________

"So, Preston, about Max." 

Neil and Max had left to get in to position, ready to dash in to the couselors office. Nerris and Nikki would bethe the two who would yell out over dramatically, giving whatever distraction Preston and Harrison made even more eye catching.  
Harrison had caught him off guard by mentioning Max.

"About him?" He saw Harrison smirk out of the corner of his eye.

"You know he was staring at you all morning. Either you pissed him off, or you're actually starting to be friends." Harrison nudged him. Oh, yeah, that.

"Hah, yeah, he's actually really nice to be around. I think he has issues with showing his feelings, which I'm working around, cause I know he doesn't mean MOST of the mean things he says.. I wish he'd apply himself to something like theatre, he'd be a great Romeo in a couple years if he did." A smile crept onto Prestons face as he said all this. He subconciously was avoiding Harrisons eyes, a lump began to form in his chest the further he went on about his feelings.

Shit, he was doing the thing. The whole Max and feelings thing. At least, he had to get the whole crush thing out of his head before tonight.

"Hold up a minute, Preston. Do you maybe, like Max? Like, as in you wanna kiss him and stuff?"

Shit, here we go.

"No, I just admire many things about him, that doesn't mean I-I fancy him or anything." Preston lied through his teeth, it was admittably unconvincing for an actor such as himself.  
Harrison's grin only grew wider.  
"You wanna kiss 'em! You wanna smooch hiiiim!" Prestons face grew hot, this really wasn't cool. 

"Shut up Harrison, or I'll start yelling about your obsession with Neil!" Preston frowned.

"I don't keep it a secret, I'm sure even Neil knows at this point." He shrugged.  
"Preston, babe, we are gonna hook you two UP! Like, as soon as Max gets back, I can't believe my boy has a crush." Harrison wrapped an arm around his friend, as he fake cried against him.

"One day you'll understand, this feeling of your boy growing up, it's... Magical!" The brunette pulled away, looking like a flustered mess.

"This crush will go away in like, a week, just leave it alone Harrison!" He cried. Harrison frowned and shook his head, now facing Preston straight on.

"Maybe it will, but if you don't try it, it could have been something big Preston!"

This was becoming too much for Preston to handle. Nikki and Nerris would notice something was up soon.

"I'm gonna beat you up as our distraction, YOU RAT!" and with that, Preston was on him in seconds, (mostly) fake pummling the boy below him. At first Harrison wanted to smile, but when Preston punched his shoulder for real, Harrison actually started to fight back. Both boys knew this wouldn't harm their friendship, at least Preston hoped so.

Nikki and Nerris yelled out, calling for anyone to go get the couselors. In two minutes, Gwen and David were pulling the two apart, both refusing to go to the counselors cabin to talk.

"Preston, seriously, out of most of these campers you are the last person I'd expect to get in to a fight!" Gwen scolded. Preston only kinda felt bad, but not really. He actually felt a little better after taking his frustrations out on Harrison. Maybe he'd need to apologize later.

"Well, things change, Gwen, people change. LOTS OF THINGS CHANGE, GWEN." Preston shouted, beginning to feel angry again. His counselor's eyes got big as he grew angrier and she didn't look too pleased either.

"Okay big guy, meeting time, you and me, let's go." Preston was about to lose his shit again to keep her out of the counselors office, but he saw Max and Neil peaking out behind some trees. They made eye contact, and Max smirked while holding his now full bag of cd's up proudly.

Preston gave him the biggest smile he could muster as Gwen dragged him off and in to the counselor cabin.

_______________

"What got into you Preston?! Out of all three years you've been here, you have never physically fought someone like that!"  
Preston sat at Gwens desk in the cabin, hands in his lap. He felt kind of embarassed now due to everything Gwen said.

"I'm.. Sorry, Gwen. I took my frustrations out on Harrison and I shouldn't have. I promise it won't happen again." He wasn't exactly lying. He did take his frustration out on Harrison, and he really shouldn't have, but he wasn't gonna promise that this was the last time.

Gwen sighed, frowning at Preston.  
"Y'know, I DID major in psychology, and I AM the camp psychologist. You can talk to me Preston, that's what I'm here for."  
He looked up at her and scrunched his nose without thinking, and shook his head at her, but then he remembered Gwen didn't understand that he shook his head to try and negate the nose scrunch, and Preston was doing shitty with this whole situation.

"No wait Gwen, I mean, yes I understand that. It's just, I like putting all of my feelings in to my plays. I'm getting older now and it's kind of becoming harder? Because I'm not sure how to convey some of these feelings I have through my writing because its so new and raw. It's wonderful being able to broaden my acting skills through these new emotions, but I feel kind of wrong and like I'm not putting them to use how they should be."

Gwen looked kind of worried, yet very thoughtfully at Preston. She leaned in and put her arms over her desk as she softened her voice.

"Well, you're very good at understanding yourself. You're also a very good actor, maybe take these emotions you have and write a monologue where you get these feelings out in whatever descriptive way you can. You can perform it, I'm sure everyone would love it." The thespian's heart lept at the idea- how had he not thought of that? He didn't need a large, extravagent scene to describe his emotions.

He only needed himself, and his words. He could do that.

He nodded his head, smiling wide at Gwen.

"That might help! All the greats started off doing just that!" This would be his best performance yet! From his heart, real, not based off the ideas of love he'd read, the ideas of forsaken and cursed relationships he had seen displayed, but how he really felt them.

"Now, Preston, something else you could do is maybe tell me what the root of these feelings your unsure of how to express? You never told me explicetly what they were so maybe I could help you if I knew what they were."

Ack, there it was. 

Preston hadn't admitted it out loud yet that he had a "crush" on Max. He feared it would make it more real. Gwen could sense his distress apparently cause she smiled warmly at him before speaking again.

"Everything in this room is confidential. I won't tell anyone anything you say unless you want me to." With that reassurance, Preston took a shakey breath, looking up from his lap and at Gwen, or as close to Gwen as he could look without getting nervous.

"I've got a crush on, well, this boy here at camp." Shit, why couldn't he just say it was Max.

"Is the problem the crush or the person who you have the crush on." Damn, Gwen was good at this whole psychology thing.

"It's the person-kinda? It's-it's the circumstances under which I've come to be in with this person and that crush, they over lap you see and-"

"Preston, who is it." He really hoped Gwen was honest about the whole 'whats said in here stays in here' thing.

He took a deep breathe once more.

"It's Max, it's been like two weeks now since it started and I can't really fathom why this crush has lasted so long- I'm an easy guy to seduce Gwen so two to three day crushes are very normal for me but one has never lasted this long and-and why Max you know? Why is he so special to me. Why do I love being his friend so much that I don't want to tell him in fear that we'll stop being friends. It was different with everyone else but now I don't want to lose him Gwen, I-" Gwen cut off Prestons long ass rant about his crush by scooting away from her desk and standing up.

"Preston, look at me." He realized then that he'd been staring at everything except for Gwen. He looked up in to her warm eyes as she walked around to his side of the desk.

"I can't tell you why Max is special to you, but it seems like maybe before, you were falling in love with the attention those people gave you and not the person themself. This is your first real crush, I think." 

Preston and Gwen left their meeting off on that note, Gwen encouraging Preston to go back out and enjoy some camp activities; David was apparently going to host another knitting circle. Fun.

_____________

Per Prestons predictions, Harrison and him had a talk before movie night started about the fight they had. It wasn't a big deal, and things were settled fine, thankfully. Their friendship couldn't be swayed by something so small.

But then, as all lights turned off and the rain clouds began to roll in, movie night began. Max, Neil, and Nikki came to their tent to give them the all clear. 

This was possibly going to be the best night of Prestons life. They grabbed the pillows and white sheeting and headed out.

Surprisingly, Nerris' projector ran with only batteries, which was really fucking cool in Prestons opinion. 

Everyone started setting things up in the mess hall, thats when Max approached Preston.

"Pres', wanna go get snacks with me while they finish up and pick a movie?" Preston reflexively held his hand behind his back when Max came over. He felt far less concious of himself when he did this for some reason.

"Yeah, let's go!" 

Upon searching the kitchen, they two couldn't find ANYTHING dessert-like. The sweetest thing they found was the juice hidden at the back of the fridge.

But, they did find popcorn.  
"I love these things!" Max grinned and actually sounded happy, which was a shock to say the least to Preston. He noticed Max got excited over very small things most people didn't get.

Max had found one of those pans of kernels you put on the stove and wait to pop. Two of them would be perfect for the six friends. While the popcorn was heating up, Preston started talking.

"So about those artists you reccomended to me, I could see where Kanye was going with his music, but it still confuses me as to why I actually kind of like it? I just don't get it." The green eyed boy smirked as he stared at the faux pan, shaking it slightly.

"That's the point Preston, music is so cool because it makes you feel stuff in a whole new way, based off of style, looks, and the media, you wouldn't think to give certain artists a chance. But dig down, listen and understand their lyrics, and you might find something you love."  
Looking at Max as he spoke, he looked at peace. He looked so much happier than the ten year old Preston had met two years ago. He'd have to perosnally thank Neil and Nikki for giving this boy a sense of family again. Preston wanted to be a part of that family too.

"I know what you mean, to dig in to something or someone you think you have pegged down and suddenly find out that they're different. I've gone through that too." 

"And? What did you find?" Max asked.

"I found something I want to cherish and love forever."

Then the kernels finally began to pop.

_____________

The boys made their way back, popcorn and all, and walked in to the hall, only to find a god-tier set up. 

Their friends made a heavenly looking fort filled with pillows and blankets they'd drown in for sure. The set was set up on the opposing wall and the projector was set up in the middle of the fort.

"So, what did you guys pick?" Preston asked.

Harrison handed Preston a dvd box as he put the disc into the projector.

"Be kind rewind?" He read aloud. "What's that?"  
"One of my all time favourites that I CANNOT believe any of you have seen!"

The movie began with the rain, as the campers got together and huddled into the covers of their fort. Preston settled between Max and Harrison and finally, their night began.  
_____________

Four movies later and Preston was the last one awake, barely. The projector rolled a title screen for 'How to Train your Dragon' on repeat. Nerris and Neil were out by the second movie, harrison by the third, and Max finally by the fourth. 

He wanted to capture this moment and try to express this warmth and love on stage.  
He was warmed by how Harrison kept scootching closer to a wary Neil the whole night.  
He was warmed by how Nerris and Nikki comforted a crying Preston during The Fault In Our Stars.  
He was warmed by the red hoodie he wore and piles of blankets he and his friends were covered in.

But that night, nothing warmed Preston more than the soft expression Max had as he slept.

They'd get in trouble in the morning for all of this, but they'd be okay to get things down in time if they woke up early enough; they had locked the mess hall doors after all.  
Not that Preston cared about that, as he silently and sweetly drifted off to sleep looking at Max that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy this fic has gained good exposure, I hope everyone liked this chapter and I'm so happy to have broken six hundred hits!!! Thank uou and please keep reading!


	5. Worst day ever.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max really should get checked for asthma.

The day will soon come...

That max is able to express himself freely without his own thoughts holding him back.

But that wasn't today.

He felt like, really agitated for some reason. This had been going on for a couple weeks now, ever since movie night.

Movie night, Max remembered it so fondly that he almost forget how antsy he was.  
Max didn't think he'd give up the memories he had of that night for anything. 

But maybe if he did forget it, he wouldn't be so annoyed. 

It all started when him and Preston were cooking popcorn. Preston had looked so at peace when he said he'd found something to love and cherish. In that moment, Max's chest had shaken for some reason, and his breath for a second sputtered out in a quiet puff. It was like he was curious, wanted to know what made Preston feel that way.

Made him wonder why that thing was so special to him.

Was Max special to him?  
That was kind of stupid and really immature of him to think, but he was a kid and he wasn't gonna pretend he wasn't. He could feel selfish. It was okay for him to want to feel needed. David had taught him that over and over but it still didn't sit right in Max's gut.

Max fell asleep while they were finishing up Rocky Horror Picture Show (a damn good movie, Preston had good taste). He remembered so clearly that he stopped paying attention to the movie, and instead began to look at Preston. Preston, and his long eyelashes and bright eyes, and his soft looking hair and his slender hand that Max for some reason wanted to hold.

Did Max like Preston as more than a friend? At the current moment, he didn't know. He didn't have issues with the idea of liking Preston, but it was an odd new feeling he hadn't experienced since he was little.

The desire to be close to someone, and the desire for that to be reciprocated.  
He missed being able to be selfish, but he didn't know how to be selfish anymore so he left it alone.

This was everything Max thought about in the early hours before camp started. When the morning alarms went off, Max was already wide awake, but he still accepted the hot cup of coffee Neil handed him.

_______________

Max was pissed. Like, not pissed at Preston, or at least he didn't want to be pissed at Preston, but he was really pissed because of what Preston was doing.

Nah, he was pretty pissed at Preston.

For some reason, he took Harrison and Nerris over to their old table. Away from Max. Why didn't Preston want to sit with him? Did he do something wrong? Not that Max really cared. He wouldn't admit it even if he did.  
He stared at the table, at Nerris, at Harrison, and at Preston. Preston was so obviously averting his eyes and trying to ignore him. 

It really fucking stung.  
Max would just have to find something to do and someone to annoy to get his mind off of it. That always worked.

The camp alarm went off, and Max was up and leaving before it even began.  
_______________

"Neil, c'mon, lets go fuck around with David. It'll be way more interesting than that nerdy stuff you're doing with your wooden beakers." Neil winced at the mention of his sub-par lab set.

"Not now Max, I'm trying to make use of what little resources I can. If I'm planning on going into the science committee when school starts I have to do some sort of practice during the Summer." The taller boy huffed, picking a stray twig from one of his beakers.  
Max huffed and shoved his hands deeper into his pockets.

"Come on Neil you can do that on one of your days. Todays Prestons day and he hasn't even started yet, lazy ass." Shit, he was doing it again. 

"I mean, really, someone else who wants to do something with the camp could be doing something today but noooo, Preston has to have his free day." Max growled. 

Neil looked at Max almost as if he was offended.  
"Max you, you and Preston are like best friends at this point. You just.. You're in a shitty mood today. Go play with Nikki right now or something, I can't believe you're pulling this shit again. I'd normally ask if you were okay and shit but after how you reacted the last time I did, I'm almost afraid to." Neil looked almost as pissed as Max felt.

"That was one day Neil, and you kept me awake with your stupid theories about life all night long, so you can fuck right off!"

And with that, Max left, and made his way to their tent to find Nikki.  
______________  
"Nikki, let's go screw with the wild life in the area. I think I saw a turtle's nest on the beach." When Max walked in to the tent, he noticed Nikki was dressed nicer than usual, with a pink turtle neck, but she still obviously wore her overalls under it.

"Sorry Max, Nerris invited me to go walk through the forest with her! Something about coming together as one to experience nature together and possibly never leaving the spot we root to for all eternity. Sounded fun!" Ugh, Nerris was shitty with pickup lines.

"Okay, like, is literally anyone NOT busy?!" At this point, he'd be surprised if he wasn't visibly blowing smoke from his ears and nose. Max knew his friends had their own lives. They have their own lives. They were independently working towards things.

What was Max working towards? 

Was Max a dependent person?

He had to be dependent at this point. He couldn't even see tomorrow without Neil or Nikki, and recently Preston, Nerris, and Harrison made three more spots in his 'Extremely dependable people' list.

"You should go ask David and Gwen, you know how much fun you three have together off camp grounds, why not try it here?" Max visibly looked repulsed and shocked.

"We do NOT have FUN, Nikki, what are you even-" again, that goddamn alarm went off signifying that Preston finally got up and decided what everyone would be doing today.

Max flapped is arms out in frustration at being interrupted, but began walking out of then tent without thinking. He heard a dissipointed Nikki mutter 'aww but Nerris.' Nikki couldn't really be so dense to not know that Nerris asked her out. She can't be.  
____________

When Max finally reached the theatre he'd wanted to leave before anything even began. The idea of Preston as a whole made Max want to run away. 

David wasn't there, and neither was Gwen. Which seemed odd to Max, he'd definitely need to go find out what they were doing after this.  
Preston suddenly was walking across the stage to the middle.  
He had a bounce in his step per usual, but something was off. He almost seemed... Nervous? Preston was barely ever nervous, on stage at least. Rightfully so in Max's opinion.

Preston fiddled with some papers he held before calling out to the campers.

"Good afternoon everyone! Today we ARE gonna play Look, but first I'd like it if you all could listen to a small monologue I've written recently. It's a little over a minute but I'd like it if I could have everyones attention, please. Oh, and before I start please, uh, it's a personal monologue so critiquing won't be neccesary."

Preston sounded so serious that it gave Max goosebumps.

Preston had everyones undivided attention now, and stood in the middle of the stage with a sheet of paper down at the stages edge. Probably the script he wrote, Max thought. 

With a deep breath, Preston began.

"Have you ever fallen from a tree? Or, missed a step on the stairs on accident, but landed safe on your feet. That thing your heart does when it's falling and bursting, and you feel it in your stomach all at once; that's how love really feels. Mom always said 'when you fall in love, you know it because you're comfortable around them and they can fill in the parts of you that you can't'. Mom had the right idea but, god, it's so much more, Dad!"

Preston seemed more bubbly as he went on, he livened up on the stage and his eyes started glittering as he talked about love.

"Love can make people go insane, look at Romeo and Juliet, they were so young, but that connection they felt, it was amazing enough to drive them to death at the thought of it never happening again. And Dad, I can understand why. When I think of this girl Dad, I just-" Preston twirrled three times before shotting a giant smile at the audience.

But not at Max.

"I want to hold her hand, I want to hug her and help her when she's sad or angry, but it's hard to do that when I remember, yeah, communication is an issue people sometimes have.. But, we're over-coming this, we're reading each other better than you and Mom ever read me, it's such a special connection. I love her and I want her to love me, but what do I do if I love her so much, I forget how to do anything else? I've stopped breathing for whole minutes sometimes, just watching her, and waiting for her to do something; anything..." The amber-eyed boy clutched at his chest and showed a bitter smile. Max felt the emotions in his voice and in his subtle movements.

Max was swayed into a trance by those glittering eyes.

"I know you and Mom had issues, I know that, believe me. I never thought I'd find love, I never knew how because all I saw and heard were you and Mom's arguments every day for so long.. I know you're just as scared as I am for me to take this next step with her, but I feel like if I don't, I'll only get more and more intoxicated by her and everything she stands for. Please, dad, help me marry her!" 

It was quiet. Preston seriously sounded close to tears, and it felt like he was showing everything on his sleeve, but there was one last thing that nobody knew. Max wanted to know.

"End scene... Okay everyone, lets do a quick game of Look and then we'll be done."  
___________

Max's hands were shaking before he even started playing.  
Whatever Preston did, he hated it. Max was so over come with emotions, he felt everything the other boy said in his core. His heart felt sticky and his chest felt hot, and he had his head in the clouds. 

Maybe thats why Max looked at Preston in the first round.

And Preston was looking at him. But, he wasn't smiling like before. He looked so, so sad, and like Max was the whole reason he felt so much stress.

And that look was why Preston screamed before Max even realized what was happening.

In frustration, the shorter boy had borderline ran out of the theatre and began making his way to the councelors cabin. He heard Nikki and Preston call out to him, and heard part of a 'he's in a bad mood, leave him' from Neil. Max just wanted to yell. 

He was outside the counselors cabin when he realized he didn't want to talk right now. Not when he was this angry. This... Whatever he was. This sucked ass.

He'd go to his tent, he'd lay down and take a long, long nap, and maybe when he woke up he'd forget what all these emotions felt like.  
___________

Waking up to Neil's snoring was not a favourable option.

It was dark out now, had to be at least 10:00 at night. It was humid and sticky, and he heard crickets outside their tent.  
Max felt true melancholy for the five minutes he layed in his bed. He forgot all about the existence of emotions and pain. 

And then his chest hollowed out and he felt it all over again.

Now he was to restless to even think about sleeping again. When he got up and left his tent, he took extra care to make sure to zip the door up quietly. 

Some tents still had their lanterns on, making Max walk extra quietly to the counselors office. Hopefully Gwen and David were still awake and would talk with him about everything he was feeling. He didn't wanna bullshit his fondness of Preston anymore, but he didn't want to jist accept it and leave it. He wanted to understand it and sort it out. Make it easier to handle for himself, really.

He immediately knew his hopes were misplaced when he entered and saw Gwen looking even more exhausted than usual, and David laying in bed looking extremely pale.

"Gwen, what's up with David? I don't think I've ever seen him so shitty." As Max walked closer he saw that David was in a deep, uncomfortable sleep.

"Wanna know what happened, Max? David got sick after SOMEBODY pushed him into the lake yesterday, then used all the hot water in the camp so he couldn't even warm up afterwards!"

Oh. Shit, Max was in for it now.

"You and you're SHITTY ideas of 'fun' do nothing but hurt others! I thought Preston would be a good influence on you, but I guess even he can't control you enough to make you any less of a little shit. I'm just... I'm so tired of this shit Max, how the fuck am I supposed to help you if you don't coopperate..." Gwen held her head in her hands. It looked like she'd cry.

"Gwen, I-"

"Just, leave Max. Go to bed." 

All at once, Max felt dizzy. He felt like three worlds had suddenly crashed in to each other and it caused the ground to shake.

He heard his Dad and Mom in Gwens words. He heard his old friends from 2nd grade, he heard Neil. He thought he belonged at Camp Campbell these past two years, but Gwens words suddenly sent that all crashing down.

He needed to leave. Now.

He couldn't say anything as he left;he felt like talking would make him throw up right now.  
__________

Max wasn't 15 feet out of the counselors office before he literally ran into Preston. Both boys fell back, the taller boys flashlight hitting the ground with a hard thud. 

Max locked eyes with Preston and he felt like everything was breaking apart even quicker.

"Oh, uh, Max I-um," He honestly didn't even wanna give Preston the benefit of the doubt right now. Max had to get away, far away, away from Gwen and away from Neil and away from Camp.

Without a single word Max stood up and took the biggest strides away from Preston that he could.

"Max? Max wait, what's wrong?" The quicker Preston tried to catch up, the faster Max ran. Max knew it was pointless, Preston would catch up, but hopefully he'd just give up and leave Max alone.

Fate had a funny way of working things. Max just happened to not see an uprising of land in front of him, and Preston happened to be close enough to jump Max and stop him.

All anyone would be able to hear from the two boys was a simultaneous "SHIT" and the loud thump of two boys hitting the ground once again. This one would probably leave Max a bruise.

"Max, WHAT THE FUCK!" Preston yelled, this time holding Max down by an arm and his legs. 

"What's wrong?! Neil said you'd been in a bad mood, and when you ran off after Look I just.. And you aren't normally out this late, you were near the counselors cabin right? You can.. You can talk to me Max, we're friends. I'll do anything I can to help you, honest!" 

His wrist felt hot and sticky under Prestons grasp, and Max was sure his chest would burst from everything going on right now.

"Anything?" He asked with a crack in his voice.

"Anything. Just name it." Green eyes met amber ones, and for the first time all day Max felt a little in control of the situation.

"Leave camp and run away with me."

Max sounded fucking insane. He could tell Preston thought so too. After a minute of confused and shocked staring, Preston finally answered.

"Okay."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been like, a big chunk of time since ch 4 and I'm sorry, writing this plus school was more difficult than I thought! This chapter also stumpped me so instead of starting and finishing a chapter in a day it took me a few to even get all the ideas of what would happen together. Also, that fact that my fic has gotten over 900 hits and 100+ kudos honestly is the most amazing thing to me, and all the comments make me so happy!!! I hope this is a better legacy for me than my shitty pjo fic from forever ago haha.


	6. A car ride to remember

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Max has a very rough day.  
> TW: mentions of abuse, neglect, and death of loved ones

The two boys finally...

Felt a glimmer of hope after walking for nearly two hours to make it into town. For Preston and Max, that hope was the sight of bright, neon signs tattered all around a sun-bleached diner.

Preston felt like hell, his boots were scuffed, he smelled gross, and his heart fell out of his chest from anxiety about 10 miles ago. Thank god he wore his red hoodie and not his performing uniform.

Everything about this was making him want to melt from anxiety. At first, he was totally down for running away. Like, super ready, this was the teenage adventure he'd always craved, and well, then there was Max.  
When he saw Max so shaken, how could Preston say no?

Max hadn't talked since he asked Preston to go with him. He hoped that now, here, at Terry's Drive In, he'd finally get his answer as to what the hell happened.

Upon entering, they found their old friend Georgie, sitting idly in on of the booths.  
When he heard the ring of the bell as the door opened, Georgie jumped up and whipped around with a big smile on his face, which became comically filled with worry as he recognized the two.

"Hey you two, it's 11 at night, what're you doing out this late?"  
"Doesn't matter Georgie, we'll go back home in an hour or two, just get us some milkshakes and fries please." Max sighed as he took it upon himself to seat himself and Preston at a booth in the corner of the diner next to the old, worn out jukebox. It makes Prestons stomach flip with anxiety again for some reason, David and Gwen didn't know where they were. They could die here.

The atmosphere of the diner didn't help.  
The cold diner mixed with the neon sign right next to their table (it read "Open 24 hours!" In bright pink, and flashed on and off every 5 seconds) only made this situation seem less and less real. The craziest thing Preston could remember doing, honestly, was when they took over camp two years ago. One of his earliest attempts at rebellion. Good times.

But now, Preston ignored everything, in favour of giving his friend the most pleading and curious face he could.

Max sighed, and placed his elbows on the table as he fidgeted with them.

"So... You saw me coming out of the counselors cabin." He began. Preston nodded, with wide eyes.

"I had some stuff I needed to talk to them about, but when I got in there I found out David got sick from when I pushed him in the lake? And like, Gwen got really angry at me cause, she's been dealing with this all day I guess, and then told me to leave; I think it was just the way she said it, but it kind of.." Max trailed off.  
Preston leaned in and reached his hands a little closer to Max incase he needed them. Needed him.

"I guess-I guess the word is trigger? There was a lot of disgust and dissapointment in her voice, and it reminded me of back when I used to live with my parents, and all the stuff they did or didn't do I guess. I don't know." It seemed Max wasn't really sure of anything. 

"Do you mind explaining a little further about your parents? I honestly don't know much besides they weren't around a lot." Preston tried to keep a calming tone of voice while he talked. 

"Honestly, it didn't seem that shitty to me until I went to camp and made friends. Which was a big contrast to what I have back home. When I was younger, I started running away, cause when I did, Mom would give me a hug when they found me, and I thought-I thought my friends at school would too after I made them angry so it just became some sort of immediate response?" Preston wanted to beat the shit out of those kids for giving him reason to look so upset.

"Then, after that first year at camp was when my aunt finally came and picked me up, and it was this big legal battle. I remember them using words like 'gas-lighting' and they used the subject of 'psychological trauma' as cases against them, and that whole time, I just thought about camp. Here, everyone acknowledges me, nobody tells me to go away until, y'know, today.." 

Max took a deep breath in and breathed our slowly. Preston wanted to help, he would do anything if it mean't helping Max, but he had no clue what would work.

Georgie promptly came over to their table with a large basket of fries and two milkshakes (it was really cool how he remembered their prefered flavors). Maybe now with food in his system, Preston would stop shaking as much.

"Sorry about, y'know, making the mood so heavy." Max scowelled down at his milkshake.  
"No no it's okay Max! Why would I be mad at you for talking about your feelings?" The other boy shrugged and crossed his arms on top of the table.

"So, as long as we're talking about families and stuff. Like, what's up with yours? You don't have to tell me, I just have never really seen your parents and like, I don't wanna say anything that'll upset you."

Ack.

It's not that Preston didn't wanna share with Max, especially after he just shared a whole lot with him. He just never really had to before. Granny always told people for him.

"No, I get it. I grew up with my Mom and Dad, and it was all okay until I turned 5. Thats when I started noticing Dad had a lot of bruises and that he wore makeup a lot, and I realized he was getting hurt by my Mom. Then he died in a car crash when I was 7, and Mom got really depressed. Grandma said she'd use me as a punching bag, but I don't really know. I tried to repress a lot of memories during that year, so I only remember a few things." Why was he shaking. He was okay, this is Max, he can get it out properly.

Max's eyes looked sullen as he gave Preston a sympathetic look. 

"Is that why you knew what to do when Nurf and you had to be parents of that egg two years ago?" God, how could Preston forget that.

"Yeah, that was kinda really scary at the time, haha." 

The two now sat in an excruciating yet comfortable silence. It was heavy, filled with the mechanical whir of the jukebox and neon signs, but being across from Max made it all worth it for Preston. 

Speaking of Max, Preston noticed he was fidgeting in his seat, and his face was getting kind of darker. 

"You okay, man?" Preston asked, concerned. It took a solid 2 minutes of Max catching shakey breaths before he finally talked.

"I wanna tell you something I've been thinking about for a while now.." the green eyed boy shrunk back in his seat. 

"Go ahead, I'm all ears"

"B-boys.." was all Max croaked out.

"Boys?"

"Boys are good!" Max yelled, very out of breath.

"And?"

"I'd kiss a boy for.."

"For?"

"...PERSONAL BENEFIT"

Looking back on this conversation Preston wanted to laugh so fucking hard, but instead, took to asking Max more questions.

"So, you're gay?" The thespians face got a little pinker as the conversation continued.

"No, I just don't, like, I don't want to lable myself, but I do like.. boys... and sometimes girls..." Max was playing with his fingers now, avoiding ANY eye contact with Preston.

"I like boys too, most of the time." Preston DEFINITELY would not have been able to admit that out loud at this point in his life if Max hadn't. The shorter boy's head whipped up to look into Preston's amber eyes. 

He didn't say anything. Neither boy said anything. Something was holding them back. Preston could feel it, and he knew Max could too. There were words they both wanted to spill out, but there was a barricade holding it all back, and it was at its fucking bursting point, but the damn thing wouldn't budge. Prestons face heated up, and Max's did too, and so was Gwens face as she slammed the door of the diner open.

"MAX, PRESTON, FUCK," was the only understandable thing Gwen said before rushing the two and barrling into Max with the BEST looking hug. 

"Max, I'm so sorry, I wasn't thinking-I was just so stressed and upset with everything and I was upset with you but I never should have told you to leave, David knocked some sense in to me after that and I realized what I said and-I'm so fucking sorry Max." The longer she talked, the more Preston could see Max tear up as he eventually hugged her back. It was really sweet when you saw it, and any way Preston could describe it wouldn't do the scene justice either. He did wonder how Gwen knew they made it to town though.

"Preston, you little stinker, get over here, I was worried about you too, y'know. It's not every day our two biggest rebels and thrill seekers run off and away from camp together." Gwen stood up with Max in her arms. Damn, Gwen was strong. 

Preston gave her an apologetic smile and hugged her back, it felt so assuring and warm to get a hug from his counselor.

"Uh, sorry to interupt you guys, but uh, you don't gotta pay for the food or anything, it was only like $4 so like, you guys are fine and everything." Georgie interjected awkwardly. 

"Thanks Georgie, we'll be back again, you can count on it." Max called out from his place tucked in Gwens shoulder.

As they left, Preston saw David neatly tucked in to the front seat of their car.

"Alright Max, c'mon you gotta sit in the back with Preston." Max almost melted off her shoulder. He was tired out finally, and it was adorable.  
They got in, buckled up, and braced for their return to camp. 

 

Nothing felt real in Preston Goodplay's life right now. This didn't feel like any kind of situation he was REALLY in, this felt like the kind of life someone opposite of Preston would have. Again, this feeling had to be because of the weird mixture of his enviroments right now, and how they changed so quickly. He sat, damp, greasy, and tired, in this car that smelled like mothballs and ferbreeze. His hair was being blown back by the wind from Gwen and Davids open windows, and so was Max's mess of a head. He looked tired and absolutely child-like for the first time in so long.

Max. He made this experience unbelieveable too.

The smaller boy inched closer and closer to sleep, as he did, he fell closer and closer to Preston. 

Preston got a bad idea.

Without saying anything, Preston tugged on Max's sleeve. When Max looked over at him, Preston was signalling for him to move closer. Maybe it was because of how tired Max was, but he did. He moved closer, and Preston leaned his head on Max, cause it wasn't odd or far-fetched to say Preston himself was exhausted too. They leaned on one another, and everything was warm. That was all Preston thought of as he fell asleep; the smell of mothballs, the feeling of being greasy, and the warmth he shared with his special someone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super sorry the chapter post dates are having bigger gaps, been busy with school stuff but I will!!! Finish this series cause I love it!!! And all the comments and kudos still make me very happy!!!!

**Author's Note:**

> :D


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